Desdemona's Handkerchief
by Stellaluna.3
Summary: "Come on, I'll read you Othello. Won't that be fun?" Rory reads Shakespeare to Jess on their way to get ice cream (in cones). Jess notices something, and he just can't leave well enough alone! A missing scene from "Teach Me Tonight."


A.N. I always thought that the choice of "Othello" for Rory and Jess to read was a missed opportunity, and way too coincidental, given Dean's jealousy and the situation with Rory's lost bracelet. And I can't imagine Jess either not noticing the connection or letting the opportunity to take a shot at Dean pass by... I searched and searched for someone who had written this missing moment and found nothing, so... I decided to write it myself! Many thanks to my friend Kim for being my beta and helping me get started.

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own this, because if I did, this would have been a part of the show!

"...But he; as loving his own pride and purposes,  
Evades them, with a bombast circumstance  
Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war;  
And, in conclusion,  
Nonsuits my mediators; for, 'Certes,' says he,  
'I have already chose my officer.'  
And what was he?  
Forsooth, a great arithmetician,  
One Michael Cassio, a Florentine…"

"Hey, let's skip this part," came the interruption, barely a page into Scene One.

"Jess! We literally _just started_! You told me I could read you Othello if I went for ice cream with you," Rory reminded her recalcitrant pupil sternly.

"Yeah, but we're not going to get through the _entire play_ on this car ride. The least you could do is get to the really juicy parts before we get there… What about the _Death Scene_ , huh?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Come on, aren't you supposed to be showing me how _fun_ learning can be? I gotta say… you're not really selling me on this so far, Teach."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Oh, and Othello murdering his wife would be 'fun,' huh? _That's_ not disturbing..."

"Yeah, maybe, but also exciting _and_ thrilling..." he countered. "Your whole air of judgement would be a lot more convincing if I didn't know for a fact about those horror movie marathons you have with your mom."

Rory crossed her arms and glared at him. He smirked.

"Come on, don't tell me you wouldn't rather read something dramatic instead of another soliloquy…" Jess coaxed. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she seemed to struggle with herself for a moment, before heaving a long-suffering sigh.

"Fine," she relented, flipping through the pages primly. Jess flashed a grin and then bit his lip, stealing another glance at her.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat importantly.

OTHELLO  
Peace, and be still!  
DESDEMONA  
I will so. What's the matter?  
OTHELLO  
That handkerchief which I so loved and gave thee  
Thou gavest to Cassio.  
DESDEMONA  
No, by my life and soul!  
Send for the man, and ask him.  
OTHELLO  
Sweet soul, take heed,  
Take heed of perjury; thou art on thy deathbed.  
DESDEMONA  
Ay, but not yet to die.  
OTHELLO  
Yes, presently:  
Therefore confess thee freely of thy sin;  
For to deny each article with oath  
Cannot remove nor choke the strong conception  
That I do groan withal. Thou art to die.  
DESDEMONA  
Then Lord have mercy on me!  
OTHELLO  
I say, amen.  
DESDEMONA  
And have you mercy too! I never did  
Offend you in my life; never loved Cassio  
But with such general warranty of heaven  
As I might love: I never gave him token.  
OTHELLO  
By heaven, I saw my handkerchief in's hand."

"Huh."

"What is it _now_ , Jess?" Rory groaned, letting her head fall back against the headrest with a _'thunk'._

"Oh, nothing. Go on."

"O perjured woman! thou dost stone my heart,  
And makest me call what I intend to do  
A murder, which I thought a sacrifice:  
I saw the handkerchief.  
DESDEMONA  
He found it then;  
I never gave it him: send for him hither;  
Let him confess a truth…"

"Interesting."

" _What_ , Jess? What is so interesting that you keep interrupting me?" Rory demanded severely.

"Oh… it's just that this conversation feels a little familiar somehow, you know?"

"What?" Rory was startled. "What are you talking about?"

"Well… remember when you lost that bracelet? And you were all scared about how dear old Dean would react if you couldn't find it? He was all freaked out because you weren't wearing it. I'm just wondering. Should I be concerned at all for you?"

Her mouth fell open in shock. Was he really insinuating what she thought he was insinuating?

"Maybe keep Dean away from any _pillows_ , that's all I'm saying," he drawled, his eyes wide in mock horror.

Yes. Yes, he was.

"Ugh! How can you even joke about that? That's not funny!"

"I dunno, I just… The dude flies off the handle if I come within ten feet of you! We're not _doing_ anything…" Jess pointed out.

"You provoke him!" Rory shot back.

"Ok. I admit seeing smoke coming out of his ears _is_ pretty entertaining… The guy's so tall, he's like a… smokestack or somethin'."

"Jess!"

"But it shouldn't be so _easy_!" Jess insisted. "I mean, the guy hates me, sure. Fine. But why take it out on you? Why not just… threaten me in a dark alleyway or have his buddies on the team jump me behind the basketball courts or somethin'? Why's he always raggin' on you if I'm the one being a jerk here? I don't get it. I mean, it's not like you _like_ me or anything, right?" He smirked wickedly, his dark eyes regarding her with a watchful intensity that seemed incongruous with the careful flippancy of his demeanor. Rory's stomach flipped over. No. He was insufferable!

"Ha!" Rory scoffed, raising her chin haughtily. "You _wish_!"

He laughed, but there was a nervous ring to it, and the warmth didn't reach his eyes.

"Don't think you're so special, Jess," she continued mockingly. "It's not like it's just _you_!"

"So, you mean he's done this before?" Jess pushed, suddenly regarding her more carefully. Rory stopped short, squirming uneasily. His teasing air had evaporated completely, his eyes narrowed, his mouth set in a grim line. And suddenly the doubts came crowding in that she tried to push aside. The memories of another Shakespeare play that had left her feeling anxious, weary, and defensive. The memories of Dean yelling at her because he saw Tristan holding her books, even though Tristan had in fact been bullying her at the time… but no. No! This was ridiculous! This was Dean. _Dean_! He was sweet and wonderful and _safe_. Even her mother trusted Dean, and Lorelai didn't trust _anybody_. He had built her a car, the very car they were sitting in right now! How could she even _think_ such things?

"Dean is…" Rory struggled to gather her thoughts. "He's just protective, that's all."

Jess's eyebrows rose sky-high and he blinked a few times incredulously.

"Protective, huh?"

"Yes!"

"Protective of you?"

"Yes, very," Rory said confidently, feeling more and more sure the more she repeated it.

"So, why are you the one he's yelling at, then? How is blaming you for accidentally losing a bracelet protecting you from _anything_? If he's protecting anyone, my guess is it's himself."

"Interesting you bring up the bracelet again, Jess," said Rory, eagerly latching onto the opportunity to turn the tables on her self-appointed inquisitor, "because my mom had an interesting theory about that." She watched his reaction closely.

A silence, and then a bored, "Oh yeah?" as his fingers flexed on the steering wheel. His facial expression remained carefully neutral, but Rory thought she saw a muscle twitch in his jaw. "I wonder what _that_ was," he drawled sarcastically.

"She thinks you stole it."

Jess laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "Of _course_ she does," he sneered. "What do _you_ think?"

"I told her you wouldn't do that," Rory said quietly.

"Ok," Jess nodded tersely. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"She told me she found you in my room."

"Ah."

"Jess…" she hesitated, "What were you doing in my room?"

Jess was silent. His fingers twitched in agitation. He needed a cigarette.

"Jess?" Her blue eyes were very large, her face solemn and child-like. He couldn't stand it.

"Hey, what kind of cone do you think you'll get?" he spoke up suddenly. "I mean, waffle cones are clearly the superior choice, but they're such a rip-off. I usually go for sugar, as the nice, middle-of-the-road option."

"You're being evasive again," Rory interjected drily, her eyes narrowing.

"Of course," he continued as if he hadn't heard her, "you might be the type of person who actually _likes_ cake cones. They always taste like styrofoam to me, _but_ , knowing your taste for crappy junk food, maybe you're into that. Maybe you like those weird, luridly pink wafer cookies too."

Rory shook her head in disbelief. "Wow," she said. "You won't say two words when I need you to, and now you won't shut up." She wasn't sure if she was annoyed or amused. This was a common feeling with Jess. But she wasn't going to let him weasel out of things this time.

"Jess, did you have my bracelet?"

Jess fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably.

"Look, I didn't steal it, ok?" he mumbled defensively. "You dropped it on the bridge when we did the Bid-a-basket thing. I picked it up, and I meant to give it back to you, but I just… forgot, I guess."

It would be an easy thing to do, to forget he had it, because it wasn't like he carried it around in his pocket everywhere he went or anything… or used it as a bookmark when he was reading, or turned it over reverently in his fingers when he talked to her on the phone, or treated it like a holy relic of his frustrated devotion, like he was some love-struck Victorian gentleman sighing over a purloined glove. He was pathetic.

"You forgot, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Why'd you hide it in my room? Why didn't you just give it back to me?"

"Well, I thought about making it magically reappear from behind your ear… but I thought you'd made it clear that was expressly forbidden?" He raised one eyebrow at her, teasingly.

"Jess…" she warned. She was getting a little tired of never getting a straight answer out of him.

"Look, I'm sorry, ok?" he finally relented. "I felt bad about forgetting, and I didn't want it to be some big deal."

She nodded, then said, "Ok," when she realized he was keeping his eyes fixed resolutely on the road ahead.

"I didn't know it was from Dean," he admitted quietly. It was true. Jess burned with disgust and self-loathing at the knowledge that he had been mooning over a love-token from _Dean_ for two weeks. If he _had_ known, he might have just kicked it into the lake right then, instead of picking it up… But he thought it best to keep that to himself. He was an idiot, but not _that_ much of an idiot.

"It's ok, Jess," Rory assured him, softening. "No harm done."

"Anyway, good thing I gave it back, huh?" he continued, a mischievous glint returning to his eyes. "I don't really feel like being the Cassio to your Desdemona…"

"Jess, not this again!" she cried, trying not to laugh.

"I mean, Star's Hollow couldn't even handle that one _fake_ murder. Can you imagine the pandemonium that would ensue if Dean had committed the double homicide that would clearly have occurred if he found out I had it?"

"Jess!"

"Ok, ok. Just promise me you'll remember the pillow thing, ok?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're terrible," she scolded, but her voice lacked any real anger. "Oh look! Ice cream!" she said brightly, pointing to the brightly-lit sign through the window and bouncing in her seat.

"Now who's being evasive?" Jess drawled slyly.

"Shut up and pull over, Jess."

"Fine, fine," he grumbled good-naturedly, his eyes dancing merrily.

As soon as he parked the car, Rory unbuckled her seatbelt and got out, Jess scrambling after her and running to get to the door of the ice cream shop before she did. He pulled open the door and held it for her.

"After you, my lady," he smirked, his dark eyes holding her gaze boldly as his arm swept wide in a mocking bow.

"Oh, stop it, you," Rory dismissed, blushing as she swept past him with rather too much dignity.

She tried not to smile. She didn't quite succeed.

A.N. again! Hi! I went back and forth over whether or not Lorelai would have said anything to Rory about her suspicions, perhaps being too terrified to mention Jess at all, but I decided to go with this because it made my story better and, like Rory, I find it entertaining to watch Jess squirm! I thought about including a flashback scene of that conversation between Lorelai and Rory, but it disrupted the flow. Let me know if you want me to write it as a one-shot anyway!


End file.
